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White Angel
White Angel (白い天使) is the second full-length tankobon by Fujio Akatsuka done through Wakaki Shobo. It was released on July 25, 1957. Overview As with Garden of the Heart, White Angel delves into a humanity tale and that of a bittersweet, ill-fated romance, with all plots stemming from the presence of a cute but unfortunate white puppy whose discovery and then tragedy act as bookends. Two sisters named Noriko and Michiko come across the puppy being bullied by some violent children and opt to adopt him as their own, naming him "Gott". They also encounter a good young boy who's protective of Gott, and who helps them out against the bullies. However, as Noriko begins to fall for the boy, she soon learns not everything will end up happy. Characters Noriko (ノリ子) The elder of the two sisters, who convinces her mother to let them keep their puppy. She is upset upon hearing of Yoshiharu's disappearance and death, even moreso when it's revealed he had drawn a picture of her and had indeed returned her feelings. After their puppy dies, she muses that Gott was a "true god", to which her sister agrees. Michiko, aka "Micchan" (ミチ子) The younger of the two. She is very attached to Gott and will follow him, rain or shine. Gott (ゴット) A small white puppy, who is targeted by cruel children including one particular boy that seems to have it out for him. In the end, Gott protects the same cruel child who finally chases him out into the road during the rain. After a car is about to hit the boy, the dog pushes him out of the way and winds up struck instead. For once, this evokes tears and sorrow in the boy, who keeps crying "I'm sorry" at the dead animal. His name is essentially the German cognate for "God", spelled in katakana. Noriko and Michiko's Mother A widowed woman, working hard as a seamstress at home. She is fine with the girls having a dog as long as they keep it outside. Yoshiharu (よしはる) A young boy who defends Gott, showing himself to be strong and good at judo. He is also a skilled artist and likes to paint. The following day after he goes on a trip to the mountains, it is stated that he and two other people died in an accident , to the horror of Noriko and Michiko's mother when she hears it on the radio. As a funeral is prepared, Yoshiharu's mother hands over a portrait he had drawn of Noriko. Yoshiharu's death also proves instrumental for the bullies who've hounded Noriko, Michiko, and Gott to finally try to ambush them out in the rain, with the boys confident that they can succeed in what they've set out to do. At the end of the story when Noriko and Michiko see the rainbow after Gott's death, they swear that they can see the spirit of Yoshiharu running across it with their dog and wave to the two. Though his name is usually spelled in hiragana, there are instances towards the end where Akatsuka used the name in katakana as well. To highlight his nature, his name literally means "good" and he is also referred to as a "Good Boy" (yoshiharu shonen) in the opening introduction. Uncle Noriko and Michiko's uncle, the older brother of their mother. He comes to visit from the countryside one day to visit the family and see how things are going. He is also shown concerned that Michiko risked her health and life out in the heavy rain to find a runaway Gott, and stands at her sickbed afterwards with her mother. His design recycles that of Midori and Sumire's father from Beyond the Storm, but will also be seen associated with other shojo manga protagonists of Akatsuka. Tecchan A young boy seen playing with his dog at the start, which catches Michiko's interest and makes her wish she had a pet. Bad Kids A trio of horrible young boys who push Gott around and mistreat him. The ringleader of the three has pointier features, making him resemble a younger counterpart to Hiroyasu from Garden of the Heart. This particular boy recurs through the feature, at times accompanied by the baseball cap-wearing member of his group. The ringleader and his sidekick use Yoshiharu's death and their desire for revenge to make one final attempt to attack Michiko and Gott out on another rainy day, seeing it as retaliation for the ringleader's brother having been defeated and arrested. This results in the lead boy losing his balance and falling on the wet road, about to be hit by an oncoming car. Yet when the car crashes, the boy finds that it hadn't hit him but it had hit Gott, who was closer to the impact and jumped in the way. He is left breaking down in inconsolable tears at the death of the dog. Ringleader's Brother A terrible young man who is the older brother of the group of bullies that give Michiko and Gott a hard time. Though he is tall and menacing, Yoshiharu manages to easily beat him up and send him away in defeat. Unfortunately, this man comes back for revenge and ambushes the sisters and dog while out on a walk, leading to Gott to run and find Yoshiharu and alert him to the fight. The second time around, Yoshiharu winds up hurt more but successfully manages to get the man detained by a police officer. Chapters #'A Poor Unfortunate Dog' (かわいそうな犬) #'Pet Dog "Gott"' (愛犬ゴット) #'A Good Boy and Bad Guys' (よしはる少年と不良たち) #'Period of Mischief' (いたずらざかり) #'Uncle' (おじさん) #'A Red Sunset' (赤い夕日) #'Gott and Michiko' (ゴットとみち子) #'A Poor Unfortunate Dog' (かわいそうな犬) Category:Shōjo works Category:1950s works